


My Dear, You Fool

by heatherforrest



Category: Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Henry Clerval takes care of victor frankenstein, M/M, Sharing a Bed, this story has all my uwus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-22
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2020-03-09 11:15:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18915841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heatherforrest/pseuds/heatherforrest
Summary: Victor has been ill for many months whilst creating his monster. When he sees Henry Clerval, it seems as though he has not endured these hardships. However, he falls very ill. Luckily, he has Henry to help him.This incredibly fluffy. The softest thing I have ever written. It’s very soft and very gay. Henry and Victor were incredibly in love.





	My Dear, You Fool

**Author's Note:**

> If you can find the two actual Frankenstein quotes in here good job sport I'm proud of you! Also this was written in first person because that's how the story was written and it flowed better.

I was so caught up in the fear of the creature I made and the unknown that I barely recognized the carriage that approached me. I felt ill and at extreme unease. But that all stopped when the carriage door opened and Henry Clerval leapt out. 

Instantly, the sight of my beloved friend eased my nerves. Seeing Henry was like a seeing the spring after a long, hard winter. “My dear Frankenstein! How glad I am to see you!” Henry immediately brightened at the sight of me. I forgot my horror and fears and embraced him. He was the perfect antithesis of me, he was tan and freckled, with eyes bright and aware. Henry looked stunning and like sunlight, whilst I was consumed by a pallor. 

“I have missed you very much, my friend. Time seems to pass more slowly when you are not near.” I smiled shakily at Henry. 

Henry chuckled. “Perhaps time would move faster if you sent the occasional letter to us, my friend. You seem as though you have been consumed by a project, however.”

“How did you realize?” I asked, although I knew the answer. Henry could sense everything about me, and I could scarcely try to keep a secret from him. 

“I know you, Victor. You frequently pass sleep and food up for a project. You worry Elizabeth and I.” 

The sound of Elizabeth’s name filled my heart with a strange feeling. I loved her dearly, but my mother’s words still lingered in my head. How she wanted us to be wed. I shook my head to dispel these feelings. “I am sorry. How is my family? Here, walk with me, and I shall show you Ingolstadt.”

“Are you sure you are well enough?” I had started to walk, and Henry grabbed my arm. It wasn’t in a forceful way, but I could tell he worried at how thin I was. 

“I am wonderful, now that you are here.” 

Henry seemed to accept this, and so we walked around the town and college. I pointed out places of interest to him. He seemed excited that we would be together once more, and that he would be able to study as he had so long wanted. As we walked more, I became more tired. I tried not to let Henry notice, but he, ever the empath, did. He suggested we go to my apartment, which caused me more distress. I made him wait at the bottom of the steps to my apartment, so I could see if the cursed creature was gone. I entered my apartment, throwing the door open, hoping that I would not see the creature. I did not, and as I checked the rooms of the apartment, my nerves worsened as I knew the monster was now about, although not in my apartment. 

Reluctantly, I invited Henry to my apartment. I tried to cover my nervousness, but I kept jumping and thinking I saw the creature. Henry smiled less at me, and his countenance faded more and more into one of concern. “My friend,” he began. “What seems to trouble you so? You have not seemed at peace since I have arrived.” 

I began to shake uncontrollably. The monster had appeared behind Henry, and was snaking his arms out towards Henry’s neck. “The fiend! Oh, my friend, I have created a monster! He aims to harm you, now!” Henry looked behind him, where I was pointing wildly. He seemed to not see a monster. He started slowly. “Victor, there is nothing there.” He set down his tea on the table. The monster began to wrap his arms around Henry’s throat. I began to scream, but nothing happened. I collapsed, and Henry rushed over to me. He bore no injuries. He began speaking to me in soothing tones. “It is alright, Victor. I am safe. As are you. There is no monster here.” I still shook uncontrollably, and I must have lost consciousness.

The next several months were spent in indescribable confusion. The first few weeks were spent in unrestful sleep where I was unresponsive to anything except my night terrors. After that, I sank into a deeper stupor. As terrifying as I am sure this was, at least my nightmares did not trouble me. During all this time, Henry was my only nurse. After several weeks, my sleep lightened, and I was not having as many night terrors as I had had before the deeper sleep. I began to recover slightly. There were moments, at first, they were few and far between, where I was cognizant of Henry. The moments of lucidity began to come more frequently, and I began to be able to converse here and there with my dear friend. I must admit, that as soon as I recovered enough to talk to Henry, I recovered much faster than at any other time. Being able to talk to my oldest and dearest friend gave me more strength than any medicine could have provided. Henry would often sit in my room and read while I slept. Several times I woke to him reading out loud, presumably to me. It filled my heart with a soft and lovely feeling. Other times, I woke to see him with a book on his lap, but he would not be reading it. He’d be staring at me with a soft countenance, a look that mixed concern and affection. 

I shall never claim to be as good at understanding people as I am at understanding the sciences, but I do venture to say that I believe that Henry was looking at me with love. I also, must admit, that I felt my heart fill with love when I saw him watching me those times. He would immediately become embarrassed and flustered. I would smile at him and say hello, and he would flush even more. 

I felt almost well again, and I invited him to sit on my bed after I had caught him watching me. He hesitated, not wanting to worsen my condition. I insisted, so he sat down next to me on my bed. 

“Thank you, my dearest friend, for all you have done in this time to fight my illness.” I said. Henry nodded. “I couldn’t let a friend wither without helping. Although I do not wish for it to happen again, if it did, I would help you again. And again.” 

I leaned back against my pillows. I studied his face. He had the soft expression on his face. He looked more tired than when I first saw him in Ingolstadt. He was thinner, too. He saw my countenance change, and his did too. “I know what you are thinking, Victor. That you are the reason for my tiredness and other minor issues. I implore you, do not take my issues as fault of yours.” He brushed some of my hair out of my face and tucked it behind my ear. I couldn’t help but shiver slightly, which he noticed, but did not acknowledge, thankfully. I knew I was looking at him with the same soft expression he so often stared at me with while I was sleeping. 

“I missed you.” Henry said softly. “Both while you were in college, away from home and I did not see you, but also when you were in your stupor. It pained me to see you struggle from the nightmares.” 

I couldn’t respond, so I just nodded. I felt myself growing tired again. I closed my eyes again, and beginning to fall asleep. Although I can not be completely sure, I believe I felt Henry press his lips to my temple in a soft kiss. 

I was continuing to recover more and more. I began to take short trips out of my room. The outside still very much worried me. I had many fears of the monster being outside my apartment. Henry acknowledged my fears without knowing the reason for them. On one day, I was feeling particularly well. I walked with Henry to the bottom of the stairs to the apartment, where I had made him wait so long ago. The outside world immediately frightened me again, and Henry walked me back upstairs as fast as I could go without injury. I retreated to my bedroom immediately upon return. Henry paced outside my bedroom door for a while as I trembled. Feeling helpless and scared, I called upon him. 

“My friend, please. Come here.” I called, voice shaking. Henry entered, looking both relieved and worried. I must have startled him by closing the door, and he had respected my boundary, not wanting to crowd me. But Henry could never crowd me. His presence could do nothing but calm me, in any situation. I needed him to know that, suddenly. He immediately came to my bedside. “Are you alright my friend? You are shaking badly.”

I nodded. “Sit, please.” I curled farther into myself, like a child. It was hard to breathe, and my chest felt tight. Henry sat on the bed next to me. He began stroking my hair, brushing it out of my face gently with his hand. “It is alright my dear. It is safe here. The world is alright.” I wanted to cry out, tell him that he was a fool, the only time I could ever call him a fool. The world was not safe, it was not safe. He was not safe, nor was I. The monster was out there in the world, causing harm. This only further agitated my already troubled mental state. Henry continued to run his fingers through my curls, and he spoke in soft tones. I lost track of what he said, but eventually his presence and soothing voice calmed me. Tears began to fill my eyes. “My dearest Henry, what shall I ever do without you?” 

“My dear, you fool. I shall never leave you. I will be by your side as long as you want me here.” 

“Why should I, at some point, not want you by my side? The merest thought of that fills my heart with agony.” 

Henry made a small noise that I couldn’t decipher. He stayed quiet. Tears no longer filled my eyes, and the shaking in my body reduced until it was replaced with a deep weariness. It must have been getting late, as Henry began to yawn. 

“Are you alright now, my friend?” Henry asked softly. I nodded. “Thank you.” I whispered. Henry smiled softly, and made to leave. 

“Henry, wait.” I called, immediately missing his presence. He paused at the door. “What is it?”

My face burned at my request. “Will you stay with me?” 

He was in a shadow, so I could not judge his countenance. He stepped back into the moonlight flooding in my room. “Yes.” 

I shifted to one side of the bed, allowing him room. He sat down at first, in the same position he had been in just before. 

“Lay down, Henry.” Henry did as I asked. I could see some sort of yearning on his face. He laid down on his back. I still laid on my side, and he began to stroke my hair again. I shifted closer to him. He inhaled, and moved closer to me. He seemed hesitant, but he draped an arm over me and pulled me close to him. “Is this alright?” He asked, unsure. 

“It is better than that, my dear. You are close to me, and there is no place I would rather be.” 

“Goodnight, dear.” 

“Goodnight, my friend.”

When I awoke the next morning, sunlight filled the room. I felt more rested and more well than I had the previous day. The best part of that morning was not the sunshine. It was not the flowers opening in the tree outside my window, or the birds chirping. The best part of the morning was that I was still wrapped safely in Henry’s arms. If I never had to move from Henry’s arms, I would be a happy man. But all too soon, Henry began to stir. He loosened his hold on me enough that I could turn around to face him. I studied his face, with the light dustings of freckles. His eyelashes fluttered at his opened his eyes. His beautiful hazel eyes found mine. “Good morning, my love.” I said to him.

“It is good to see you looking so well rested and calm. Good morning.” 

“It is because you were here with me as I slept.” I cupped my hand on the side of his face. He turned his head and kissed my hand.

“Henry, my friend, I have a secret to confess. I believe that I am in love with you.” I told him, in a voice quieter than a winter night. 

He smiled, bathing me in his sunlight face. “I hope you will appreciate the secret I shall tell you, and it is that I am also in love. I love you, Victor.”

For once in my life, I didn’t question it. I refrained from asking the whys, the hows. I just allowed myself to be loved by this wonderful man. Henry kissed me gently on the lips, which made me startle at first. I kissed him back. Everything was alright with the world. It wasn’t safe, but I could get through it with Henry at my side.

**Author's Note:**

> uwu


End file.
